Editorial: 112th Congress leaves Washington unproductive

Tuesday

Sep 25, 2012 at 12:01 AMSep 25, 2012 at 6:01 AM

The 112th Congress abandoned Washington for the campaign trail, but not before cementing its reputation as the least productive and most dysfunctional Congress in memory. Not since 1960 has Congress headed home this early to campaign. They’ve clearly got a lot of explaining to do.

The 112th Congress abandoned Washington for the campaign trail, but not before cementing its reputation as the least productive and most dysfunctional Congress in memory.

Its final week was typical of the performance of the Congress that took office in January 2011, primed by a tea party-dominated election that returned the House to Republican control and narrowed the Democrats’ control in the Senate.

They let important legislation stall: a farm bill renewing the one that will expire at the end of the month passed the Senate, but didn’t come for a vote in the House. The same thing happened with a bill to protect the Postal Service from default. The House again chose symbolism over substance, enacting the “Stop the War on Coal Act,” which all knew would never see a vote in the Senate.

The Senate let Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., tie it up for days over his proposal to cut foreign aid, which eventually fell, 10 to 81. Yet another Senate filibuster killed a jobs bill for veterans; 58 senators favored it, but a majority is no longer enough to get anything through the Senate.

Political games were played by both sides: Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) refused to schedule votes on bills that might embarrass Democrats; Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) tried to kill a vote on a bill popular with the hunting and fishing lobby because he didn’t want to help Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in a tough re-election fight.

On the biggest issue, the federal budget, Congress avoided a government shutdown by approving a continuing resolution funding operations for the next six months. This act of kicking the can down the road is considered a victory.

The 112th Congress had, as of last month, completed action on 173 laws. That’s roughly half the output of a typical Congress, and less than half the production of the 111th Congress. For purposes of comparison, the body that President Harry Truman branded the “do-nothing Congress” in 1948 produced 906 public laws.

There are other measures that put this group into contention for the title of the worst Congress ever: It is the most polarized by party, the most frozen by ideology. It arguably hurt the economic recovery, drove down the nation’s credit rating and has put the government on course toward a disastrous fiscal cliff at the end of December. It’s also the least popular, with an approval rating that hit 10 percent last winter.

Maybe that’s why the leaders of both parties and both chambers agreed last week to recess until after the election. Not since 1960 has Congress headed home this early to campaign. They’ve clearly got a lot of explaining to do.